To Avoid: Some of Lyon’s suburbs like Bron are unattractive and can be generally unpleasant places to find yourself.

Tipping: Not customary.

Lyon is the second-biggest city in France, and it benefits from its position in the Rhone valley to enjoy a great climate and a convenient access to both the Alps for skiing and the Mediterranean for beach vacations. While it has nothing like the reputation of Paris for fashion and style, it’s still France, so there’s a pervasive sense of elegance, albeit of a more casual type. The city’s small enough to get around easily, yet big enough to have a world-class soccer team.

Lyon is one of France’s culinary epicenters, with all the incredible food without much of the pretense that Paris has become notorious for. Be sure to check out the city’s famous bouchons, or Lyon-style bistros that serve hearty meat-centric fare in relaxed, decidedly guy-friendly settings. No pinkie-raised espresso sipping here -- this is manly French cuisine. Case in point: the traditional salade Lyonnaise has bacon in it; any city whose namesake salad includes bacon has some traditions we can get behind.

First settled in Roman times, parts of Lyon have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and it has a rich and at times bloody history, and has plenty of museums and historical sites to satisfy any curious visitor.

Lyon’s economy has suffered in the recession, but it enjoys far lower living costs than many major cities, making it an attractive place to ride out the storm. France has suffered for a long time with high unemployment, which has seen the government introduce a shorter working week to get more people into work, meaning a favorable work-life balance is likely here. The success of its soccer team, which looks set to continue in 2009, means residents will enjoy top-class European matches. All these elements combine to make Lyon a very attractive proposition for the coming months. If you are looking for a vibrant yet relaxed place to live, you could do far worse than Lyon.